Due to the increasing demands of removing steam locomotives within the city limits because of the pollution it produce and health concerns, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, one of the, if not the biggest railroad operator in Baltimore, Maryland, built the Mount Royal Station in 1896 to coincide with its railroad electrification project also known as Baltimore Belt Project.

Built on the north end of the Howard Street Tunnel, the Mount Royal Station was the home of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s most famous passenger train ‘Royal Blue’ which ran between Washington D.C. and New York City.

Built of granite and trimmed with limestone, The Mount Royal Station was designed in Romanesque and Renaissance style by Baltimore’s famous architect E. Francis Baldwin. It features a 150-foot high clock tower, marble mosaic flooring, a fireplace, and rocking chair on the interior. The Station has a long train shed where trains enter under it right after exiting the Howard Street Tunnel.

However, after 65 years of use, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad permanently ended its operation in the Mount Royal Station on June 30, 1961. The Station and the 3 ¼ acres surrounding it were acquired by Maryland Institute College of Art in 1965. On December 6, 1976 it was designated as a National Historic Landmark and underwent a multi-million restoration. Maryland Institute College of Art now calls it the Station Building and uses the building to house its art studios such as the Middendorf Gallery and the Rinehart School of Sculpture.